Furniture construction



Patented Feb. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION corporation of Indiana Application June 22, 1931. Serial No. 545,975

8 Claims.

The present application relates to furniture construction, and more particularly to the construction of tables, and the like, of that character which comprises a top sheet having some resiliency. More particularly, the invention relates to means for placing metal table tops under tension, whereby the sheet metal tops are held in a plane condition, and against warping and bending.

An object of the invention is to provide means for placing such sheet metal elements under tension, the means being of such character as to maintain a positive tension on the elements without straining the materials or the coatings on same beyond their elastic limits, which might cause cracking of same. A further object is to provide means of the character described which shall be unusually inexpensive to make, and to assemble, and which shall be unusually efiective in maintaining the table top under the desired tension. A further object of the invention is to provide means including an apron for maintaining the table top under the desired tension, said apron being held in place by vertically driven fastening members. Further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawing, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawing is illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated.

Fig. l is a perspective view of a table embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan of a table embodying one form of my invention, parts being broken away, and other parts being shown in section, for clarity of illustration;

Fig. 3 is a substantially central longitudinal section through the table illustrated in Fig. 2; 4 Fig. 4 is a section upon an enlarged scale,

and taken substantially upon the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a iragmental bottom plan of another embodiment of my invention; and

5 Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 and illustrating a still further embodiment of my invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, it will be seen that I have illustrated a table top comprising a metal sheet 10 formed with an upwardly and outwardly flaring flange 11, beyond which is formed a perimetral plane surface 12 substantially parallel with the surface of the main body 10. It will be understood, of course, that the flange 11 forms no part of so the present invention, and that a perfectly plane table top may be used in place of that illustrated. The metal of the sheet 10 is bent downwardly to provide a depending flange 13, g and thence inwardly as at 14 to provide a lip 5 parallel with the surface 12, the portions 12, 13, and 14 cooperating to form a continuous inwardly-opening groove 15 extending around the perimeter of the table top. i

As is well understood in the art, it is desir- 7o able to provide means for exerting a uniform force outwardly upon all portions of the depending flange 13, whereby the main body of the sheet 10 is placed under tension. Such tension, if properly applied, will hold the body 10 76 smooth, even though a large area of said body is not directly supported.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, two side rails 16 and 17 are entered in opposite portions of the groove 15, and two end rails 18 and 19 are entered in the remaining portions of the groove 15. Each of the rails 16, 17, 18, and 19 is formed with a laterally projecting flange 20 of reduced thickness, providing an outwardly facing shoulder 21, and said flange is beveled upwardly and outwardly, as shown in Fig. 4, whereby the upper corner only of each flange contacts the portion 13 of the table top 10. Obviously, it is desirable to exert the extending force at a point as far removed from the lip 14 as possible, so as to minimize the tendency of such force to bend the portion 13 outwardly.

The side rail 16 is formed with an inwardly facing groove 23. A cross brace 24 is provided at its one end with a tongue 25 of reduced thickness adapted to be received in the groove 23. In previous constructions known to me, in which elements similar to those thus far described have been used, the cross brace corresponding to the brace 24 has been provided with tongues on its opposite ends adapted to take into grooves in the side rails. The cross brace has been inserted by turning said brace into a position making acute angles with the inner edges of the side rails, entering the tongues in the grooves, and then rotating the brace into a position perpendicular to the inner edges of the side rails. Such an operation obviously results in a wedging apart of the side rails, such wedging attaining a maximumwhen the opposite corners of the tongues of the cross brace are engaged with the bases of the respective grooves, and obviously the degree of tension impressed upon the table top is reduced as the brace is turned from said above-mentioned position to its final position perpendicular with the inner edges of the side rails.

According to the present invention, the side rail 17 is formed with an inwardly facing groove 26 disposed substantially in the plane of the groove 23. Said side rail is notched, as at 27, to the depth of the groove 26, and the walls bounding the groove 26 are formed, adjacent the notch 27, as cam surfaces 28. The cross brace 24 is formed with a tongue 29 adapted to be received in the groove 26, and with cammed shoulders 30 bounding said tongue, said shoulders being adapted to cooperate with the cam surfaces 28.

A second cross brace 31 is formed at its opposite ends with tongues adapted to be received in the grooves 23 and 26, and the side rail 17 is formed with a second notch 32 and with adiacent cam surfaces 33 for cooperation with the corresponding tongue and shoulders of the cross brace 31.

In assembling the above-described structure, the side rails 16 and 17 are positioned with their flanges 20 within the groove 15, and thereafter the cross brace 24 is placed in position. The tongue 25 is inserted in the groove 23, while the opposite end of the cross brace 24 is held out of the plane of said groove 23. Said tongue 29 is then moved into the notch 27, and thereafter the cross brace 24 is moved bodily toward the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, the shoulders 30 engaging the cam surfaces 28 and, by a wedging action, causing separation of the side rails 16 and 17. Almost any desired degree of tension can thus be applied to the table top 10. The cross brace 31 is similarly positioned with its tongues in the grooves 23 and 26, and is similarly moved toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, to wedge the rails 16 and 17 apart. By this means, a. uniform tension transversely of the table top may be applied to said table top, and it will be noted that, as the braces 24 and 31 are moved toward each other, the degree of tension is continuously increased, there being no point at which the maximum tension is passed, and the degree of tension begins to be reduced.

The side rail 16 is formed at its opposite ends with cam surfaces 34 and 35. The side rail 17 is similarly formed with cam surfaces 36 and 37; and it will be seen that the end rails 13 and 19 are formed at their opposite ends with cam surfaces 38, 39, 40, and 41, respectively, the adjacent cam surfaces of adjacent rails being so formed as to converge outwardly. Thus, the side rails 16 and 17 having been wedged apart by the braces 24 and 31, a key or wedge 42 may be driven between the surfaces 34 and 38, while a wedge 44 is driven between the surfaces 36 and 39, a wedge 43 is driven between the surfaces 35 and 40, and a wedge 45 is driven between the surfaces 37 and 41; whereby the end rails 18 and 19 are uniformly wedged outwardly against the portions 13 of the table top defining those portions of the groove 15 in which the flanges 20 of the rails 18 and 19 are received. Thus, a uniform tension is applied longitudinally of the body 10 of the table top by the action of the wedges 42, 43, 44, and 45 upon the end rails 18 and 19. Preferably, corrugated nails 46 may be driven into the keys and the adjacent rails to hold the keys in wedging positions or glue may be used to hold keys in position.

Alternatively, the grooves 23 and 26 may be carried across the ends of the side rails 16 and 17, respectively, and similar grooves may be cut in the end rails 18 and 19. The wedges 42, 43, 44, and 45 may be formed with tongues engageable in said grooves, whereby the surfaces of the four rails may be held in the same plane.

An apron, indicated generally at 47, comprises a pair of parallel elements 48 and 49 and another pair of parallel elements 50 perpendicular to said elements 48 and 49. The opposite ends of the elements 52 are connected to adjacent ends of the elements 48 and 49 by brackets 51 secured to said elements 48, 49, and 50 by screws 52, or the like, this being usual construction. Each element 48 and 49 is formed near its opposite end with counter-sunk bores 53, said bores being parallel with the width of the elements 48 and 49. Somewhat closer to each end of each element, there is formed another bore 54, said bores 54 being parallel with the bores 53. Each element 50 is likewise formed adjacent its opposite ends with similar bores 55 and 56.

When the apron 47 is assembled with the structure illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, long screws 57 are inserted through the bores 53 and 55, said screws taking into the rails 16, 17, 18, and 19 to secure the apron to the table top. The function of the bores 54 and 56 will be stated hereinafter.

Each bracket 51 is formed with an aperture receiving one end of a stud 58. Each stud 58 has its opposite end formed as a screw entered in a leg element 60. The adjacent ends of the elements 48, 49, and 50 are spaced suficiently to permit the entry of the legs therebetween, whereby the free ends of the studs 58 may be inserted through the apertures of the respective brackets 51. Nuts 59 are threaded on the protruding ends of the studs 58, whereby the legs 60 may be firmly secured to the apron 47.

The element 48 may be formed, intermediate its ends, with a notch 61, and a pair of cross bars 62 are secured at their opposite ends to the elements 48 and 49, each of said bars being formed with a rabbet 63. Said bars, together with said notch 61, form a slideway for a drawer 64.

A modified embodiment of my invention is i1- lustrated in Fig. 5. The tabletop 10 is, as before, provided with a groove which is partially defined by the lip 14, and side rails such as 16' and end rails such as 18 are provided, said rails being formed with flanges 20' received in the groove. Adjacent each corner of the table top there is positioned a block 65, said block being formed with flanges 66 and 67 received in adjacent portions of the groove 15. In the illustrated embodiment, each block is formed with a cam surface 68 adapted to cooperate with the cammed end 34 of the rail 16, and with a cam surface 69 adapted to cooperate with the cammed surface 38 of the rail 18'. The cooperating cammed surfaces are suitably formed so that the table top may be assembled by positioning the four block 65, and thereafter forcing the side rails and the end rails into position, the cam surfaces of the rails and blocks cooperating to impress the desired tension upon the table top 10. Corrugated nails may be used to hold the elements in position, and the apron 47 may be secured to the table top by means of screws 71 projected through the bores 54 and 56 and taking into the blocks 65.

In Fig. 6 is illustrated a slightly modified embodiment of the structure illustrated in Fig. 5.

locks 72 are formed with flanges '73 and 74 adapted to be received in the groove 15, and said blocks are formed with cammed surfaces 75 and 76 adapted to cooperate with the cammed surfaces 34 and 38 of rails 16" and 18", said rails being formed with flanges 20 taking into the groove 15. In the present embodiment, the cooperating camined surfaces are so formed that the blocks 72 may be driven into position after the rails have been positioned, said blocks co operating with the rails to effect the desired tension of the top member 10. Said blocks are preferably formed with shoulders 77 and 78 for engagement with the adjacent rails, and the apron 47 may, as in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 5, be secur d to the table top through the medium of screws 71 projected through the bores 54 and 56 and taking into the blocks 72.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination of a metal table top provided with a pair of parallel inwardly-opening grooves adjacent its opposite edges, a pair of rails entered in said grooves, and a cross-brace cooperating with said rails, said brace being formed with a cam face spaced inwardly from one end thereof, and one of said rails being formed with a cooperating wedging cam face.

2. The combination of a metal table top provided with a pair of parallel inwardly-opening grooves adjacent its opposite edges, a pair of rails entered in said grooves, said rails being formed with opposed channels and a crossbrace cooperating with said rails, one of said rails being formed with a cam face cooperating with the corresponding end of said brace, the Whole of said cam face being spaced from the bottom of the channel of said rail.

3. The combination of a metal table top provided with a pair of parallel inwardly-opening grooves adjacent its opposite edges, a pair of rails entered in said grooves, said rails being formed with facing parallel grooves, a crossbrace formed at its opposite ends with tongues respectively receivable in said rail grooves, one of said rails being formed with a notch out to the depth of its groove, and with a cam surface adjacent said notch.

4. The combination with a table top having an inwardly-opening perimetral groove, of a series of rails respectively received in said groove, and a series of blocks cooperating with said rails, said rails being formed at their extremities with cam surfaces inclined at an angle less than eighty-five degrees to the base of said groove and cooperating with cam surfaces formed on said blocks, whereby said rails are forced into said groove with substantially uniform pressure.

5. The combination of a metal table top provided with a pair of parallel inwardly-opening grooves adjacent its opposite edges, a pair of rails entered in said grooves, said rails being formed with facing parallel grooves, a cross brace formed at its opposite ends with tongues respectively receivable in said rail grooves, one of said rails being formed with a notch out to the depth of its groove, and with a cam surface adjacent said notch, and the corresponding end of said brace being formed, adjacent its tongue, with a cam shoulder cooperable with said rail cam surface.

6. The combination with a substantially rectangular table top having an inwardly-opening perimetral groove, of a pair of end rails received in portions of said groove, a pair of side rails received in other portions of said groove, and a block, said block being positioned between the adjacent ends of one of said end rails and one of said side rails, and said block and rails ends being formed with cooperating wedging cam surfaces inclined to the axes of said rails, whereby both of said rails are wedged into said groove.

'7. The combination with a substantially rectangular table top having an inwardly-opening perimetral groove, of a pair of end rails received in portions of said groove, a pair of -side rails received in other portions of said groove, wedge means cooperating with one pair of said rails for forcing the rails of said pair uniformly into their groove portions, and means including cam elements cooperating with said one pair of rails and with the other pair of rails for wedging the rails of said other pair uniformly into their groove portions, said cam elements being formed with faces making acute angles with the axes of adjacent rails.

8. The combination with a substantially rectangular table top having an inwardly-opening perimetral groove, of a pair of side rails received in portions of said groove, a pair of end rails received in other portions of said groove, the ends of said end rails being disposed adjacent, but spaced from, the ends of said side rails, and a block located between each end of each side rail and the adjacent end of an end rail, said blocks and the ends of said rails being formed with cooperating cam surfaces making acute angles with the axes of said rails, whereby all of said rails are wedged uniformly into said groove.

TAYLOR W. ROSS. 

